Trinity College TM-325 Celtic Octave Mandolin with Gig Bag – Solid Sitka Spruce Top, Maple Back & Sides, Santos Rosewood Fingerboard, Slim Mahogany Neck – Natural Finish

The product arrived with playability issues due to the bridge being to low. This appeared to be due to pronounced deflection (sinking) of the top around the bridge due to downward pressure when the instrument is tuned to pitch. The top and possibly the top bracing appeared to be inadequate to support the force on the bridge due to string tension when tuned to pitch. I feared the top could crack at any time. Much more disturbing was the fact that manufacture/importer of the instrument provided zero customer support for the instrument which I had less than 2 months. I would not recommend purchasing this or other instruments from this manufacturer/importer.

Although the instrument is not as set up as one might need to start playing, it is a quality OM and very good for the money. There are no "guarantee" documents or instructions on how to set up the bridge and intone the scale length, so it is assumed you have other sources to know how to begin using the instrument. You might want to google setting up a mandolin bridge. [...] The strings are already attached and horribly corroded which means most likely the mando has been sitting for quite some time. As soon as you set up the bridge, your fingers will turn black from the corrosion. No problem, buy some new strings when you purchase it and change them asap. Meanwhile the tone should yield a nice range of highs and lows and provide a satisfied feeling of playability. The case is not the greatest quality (the inside compartment cover is not hinged all that well) however it works for protection and fits perfectly. Remember though you don't play the case, so it is fine. Overall I would recommend this one, Amazon will over package it for safe shipping and send it to you on time.

When it arrived the strings had a little bit of buzz to them. I checked the neck relief and the neck definitely needed a little adjustment. I accessed the truss rod and give it a little turn counter-clockwise to provide more relief to the neck (i.e., to create more of a bow). I felt no resistance when I did that and the neck relief didn't change. In fact the truss rod spun freely counter-clockwise and did not have any effect no matter how much I turned it. So, unfortunately, the instrument has a badly adjusted neck and buzzy strings and there apparently isn't any way to fix it other than doing repair work that likely will cost more than the instrument.

when you open the box you will be impressed!! no drip makes, no thick varnish, no over gluing on the inside. what it does have is great wood, x bracing, well made fret board, and great tuners. this is a WELL made instrument for the money and more than likely the best for the price range. but i would feel bad is i didnt tell you about the down sides. you need to set up the mandolin. this means set up the bridge, maybe adjust the truss rod, and maybe filing the bridge. so i would tell you to have it professionally set up(dont worry its only like $30-$50). the tailpiece, while nice, is not as good as it could be, but they can be changed out very easily and available online ($30-$200, the cheaper ones will work perfect, should say "cast", and the more expensive are gold plated and things like that to make them expensive). at the end of the day, you will be very happy with this mandolin.

The Trinity College octave mandolin is an excellent instrument for the price, but buyers need to aware of some basic flaws purchasing through Amazon. First of all the sound hole opening was not oval, but round. No biggie, but an inconsistency in the description. No case. The mandolin arrived "unassembled" in that the bridge was not installed. I know that mandolins have floating bridges, but there were no instructions on how to set the bridge/intonation. I knew how to do that, but I'm sure most folks don't. If you were not mandolin literit, how would you feel if you received this mandolin with the bridge in a plastic bag and no instructions on what to do with it? Two other problems were: the tailpiece was not aligned properly; the treble side was cantered up higher than the bass side. I fixed that by re-setting the tailpiece. Also, the binding on the treble side of the fretboard had black scrapes on it. Don't know where they came from. Was able to remove most of them by scraping with a razor blade. I would give this purchase more stars if there were more disclosure on the setup of this instrument. The sound of this instrument is very acceptable.

I'll be brief: great price, excellent instrument! I'm a musician in the band Sugar Bayou, and needed this octo-mando for recording purposes. Easy set-up (although I didn't really know it would arrive without the bridge in place, had I thought it through, I wouldn't have been surprised). I will certainly go to this vendor first in the future. Thanks!

As noted in another review, this came without set-up, i.e., bridge was included but not fixed and adjusted. I took it to a luthier for set up, and he found that the several frets were high and needed leveling. As he was setting up the instrument, one of the string tabs on the tailpiece broke and a second was starting to bend. As of right now I'm spending $150 for fret leveling and setup, and another $25 for a new tailpiece with a ten day waiting period for the tailpiece. I have yet to play this instrument and hope it will all be worth it. I will update this review when I get the mandolin back and have played it.

Well-made instrument, fit and finish seem very good. It's a bit heavier than I expected so that may affect the tone and volume, but overall it is a nice instrument. The setup is ok but I need to improve the intonation and action a little. I like the relatively short scale compared to many octave mandos. Edit: Switched to D'Addario EJ72 Mandola strings and fitted the bridge a little better (the bottom was a little rough) and it sounds much better. The intonation improved and the sustain and volume are very good.

I had been watching this listing for awhile and have notice the price fluctuates considerably. The instrument itself is lovely and plays well. It came without the bridge installed-a good thing I think I had a friend do the set up for me and I am quite happy so far.

The instrument came in perfect condition, I was actually surprised at how well made it was, even had a good set of strings on it. I waited for about a year for this to go on sale, picked it up for only $720! Great deal!